Resiliently mounted leg rest



March 29, 1938. F. A. RAUSCH 2,112,678

RESILIENTLY MOUNTED LEG REST Filed Aug. 16, 1937 ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 29, 1938 HTED STATES PATENT OFFIEE Application August 16,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to resiliently mounted leg rests and has for an object to provide leg rest sections for supporting the legs at the calves and upper legs at the knees independently of each other and in such manner as to afiord maximum comfort, this end being obtained by means for automatically adjusting the leg rest sections to movements of the users legs in various changes of position.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which will be formed of a few strong, simple and durable parts, which will be inexpensive to manufacture, and which will not easily get out of order.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification,

Figure l is a side elevation of a resiliently mounted leg rest constructed in accordance with the invention and illustrated as supporting 'the legs of the occupant of a rocking chair.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional View of the leg rest.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the leg rest.

Figure 4 is a detail enlarged longitudinal section showing the pivotal connections, controlling springs and stops.

1:; Figure 5 is a detail cross sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 3 and drawn substantially to the scale of Figure 4.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of reference designate similar parts '1; in the various views, a pair of leg rests Ill and ll are illustrated each comprising a pair of upright supporting bars I2 pivotally connected at the lower end to a rod l3 by straps 14 which embrace the rod. The ends of the rod are fixed 4.; in frame plates 15 which are supported level upon the ground floor or other support by base plates l6 secured to the bottom of the frame.

Each pair of bars I2 are connected at the top by a rod ll the ends of which project beyond 2 the bars and pivotally receive hinge lugs l8 secured to the underneath side of a padded leg rest section l9, which is adapted to support the lower leg at the calf from the ankle to the knee as best shown in Figure 1.

A padded leg rest section is hinged to the 1937, Serial No. 159,400

rear end of the leg rest section l9 by a leaf hinge 2i. Hinge lugs 22 depend from the bottom of the leg rest section 29, as best shown in Figure 2 and a rod 23 is passed through these hinge lugs. A brace 24 is provided with an inclined extension 25 which forms a stop toengage the bottom of the leg rest section 20 which latter is shorter than the leg rest section IS. The brace is pivotally secured to the rod 23 preferably by means of a staple 26 passed through the elbow of the brace and into the rod. The brace is secured to the bars I2 by means of a rod 21 which connects the bars. Preferably a staple 28 is passed through the lower end of the brace and into the rod 21 to pivotally secure the brace to the rod.

A hanger bar 29 is fixedly secured to the rod I3 midway between the ends thereof. A pair of springs 30 are each secured at one end to a respective lug 3| projecting from one face of a respective bar l2 and at the opposite end is secured to one end of a plate 32 which is secured to the anchor bar 29. Thus the two leg rests may pivot on the rod l3 independently of each other and are spring controlled to be returned to normal position after each actuation.

Pivotal movement of the leg rest is limited by pins 33 projecting laterally from the anchor bar 29 and engageable with the ends of respective channel iron bars 34 carried by the innermost supporting bars l2, as best shown in Figure 5.

In operation the resiliently mounted leg rest may be placed in front of a rocking chair 35, for example, so that the leg rest section l9 will support the occupants leg at the calf from the ankle to the knee and the leg rest section 20 will support the upper portion of the leg at the knee, as best shown in Figure 1. Booking movement of the occupant in the chair will move the occupants legs and both leg rests will yield independently of each other and in conformity with the movements of the legs of the occupant so that maximum comfort with the least amount of efiort is greatly promoted.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of the invention will be fully understood without further explanation.

What is claimed is:

1. A resiliently mounted leg rest comprising vertical frame plates, upright bars pivotally connected to the frame plates, a rod connecting the bars together at the top, a padded leg rest section having hinge lugs pivotally connected to said rod and adapted to support the lower leg of the user at the calf from the ankle to the knee, a padded leg rest section pivoted at one end to the rear end of the first named leg rest section and adapted to support the upper portion of the users leg at the knee, an inclined brace pivotally connected to the other end of the second named leg rest section and pivotally connected to said upright bars, and tension means for returning the upright bars to upright position when swung therefrom.

2. A resiliently mounted leg rest comprising vertical frame plates, upright bars pivotally connected to the frame plates, a rod connecting the bars together at the top, a padded leg rest section having hinge lugs pivotally connected to said rod and adapted to support the lower leg of the user at the calf from the ankle to the knee, a padded leg rest section pivoted at one end to the rear end of the first named leg rest section and adapted to support the upper portion of the users leg at the knee, an inclined brace pivotally connected to the other end of the second named leg rest section and pivotally connected to said upright bars, an inclined extension on the brace forming a stop to engage the bottom of the second named leg rest section and limit pivotal movement of the second named leg rest section relatively to the first named leg rest section, and tension means for returning the upright bars to upright position when swung therefrom.

3. A resiliently mounted leg rest comprising vertical frame plates, pairs of upright bars pivoted to the plates, an anchor block carried by the plates between the pairs of bars, springs carried by the anchor block and connected to the bars for yieldably holding the bars in predetermined upright angular position with respect to the frame plates, stops on the bars, pins carried by the block engaging said stops for limiting pivotal movement of the bars, a padded leg rest section pivotally connected to the upper ends of each pair of bars and adapted to engage the calf of the user between the ankle and the knee, a padded leg rest section secured at one end to the rear end of each first named padded leg rest section and adapted to engage the upper leg of the user near the knee, and an inclined brace pivotally connected to the other end of each last named padded leg rest section and pivotally connected to a respective pair of bars.

FRANK A. RAUSCH. 

